The Art of Bourbon 2024 Is the Year’s Best Whiskey Auction

Extremely rare bottles of Michter’s, Pappy, Old Forester and more highlight the Art of Bourbon 2024, an annual auction to benefit Louisville’s Speed Art Museum.

Now in its seventh year, the event is curated by whiskey expert Fred Minnick. This year, highlights include six bottles of Pappy Van Winkle signed exclusively by Julian Van Winkle III for this year’s auction ($30,000 estimated value), a 2017 Michter’s 25-Yr-Old (also $30,000) and a 1947 Old Forester ($20,000).

The most interesting single-bottle release is a 1976 Bicentennial Commemorative Bourbon (16-Yr-Old), distilled in 1959 at the original Willett Distillery. The value of the bottle is estimated to run around $30,000-$50,000. As the auction catalog notes, “This is the bottle that started it all. In 1976, Gordon (Gordy) Hue Jr., was working in his family’s liquor store in Covington, KY…he was frustrated that Scotch and Cognac were dominating the high-end market and no one was selling premium price point bourbon. So, he found a distillery that was in the process of shutting, Willett, and bought 32 barrels of 1959 distillate.”

That eventually led to the 1976 bottle, and Hue Jr. apparently had so much fun he “went on to contact Julian Van Winkle Jr. and started Old House Reserve Bourbon,” which also led to future partnerships with Julian Van Winkle III and Adolph Hirsch (and that AH Hirsch release has its own legendary history).

The auction is also offering up private barrel and tasting experiences with Hard Truth, Maker’s Mark and Heaven Hill, among others. A total of 35 lots will be auctioned.

The Art of Bourbon 2024 will be held on Thursday, Sept. 12, starting at 6 p.m. (the bidding takes place between 7:30-9 p.m.). The event features both in-person and online bids; last year’s event raised $318,000.